A Secret Heart
by insert cliche
Summary: As much as it pains her, she will follow his every last command. Slight ShunNao; spoilers for Bleach 520


**Disclaimer**: Bleach does not belong to me in any way, shape, or form. All characters and settings used belong to Kubo Tite.

**AN**: My first Bleach fic, inspired by chapter 520. Slight Shunsui x Nanao.

**Spoilers for Bleach 520.**

* * *

**A Secret Heart**

by insert cliche

* * *

Hours later, the words still won't disappear from her mind.

_Kyoraku Jirou Souzosa Shunsui has been appointed as the captain-commander of the Gotei 13 and the captain of the 1st division. This change is effective immediately.__  
_  
_Captain-commander...captain of the first division...__  
_  
Nanao is sitting at her desk, frozen, while the world moves around her. She can hear the dead and dying, crying out their last wishes, some along the lines of "_please tell her I love her_" and "_please tell him I'll miss him_." She can see shinigami of all divisions rushing and running to wherever they are most needed. And if she looks outside her window, she can see the rubble landscape that used to be Seireitei.

_Captain of the first division...__  
_  
She shakes her head, and turns her thoughts back on track. Seireitei. It's the aftermath of a war that hasn't even started yet.

Or maybe the war has already ended. Her mind is too muddled to comprehend much of anything, and she is confused for one of the first times in her long, long life. So she lets her thoughts drift back to her ca-_former_captain, because it is the only thing that's even slightly logical in the world right now.

_First division...__  
_  
They all knew it was coming. Kyouraku Shunsui was one of the oldest, most experienced shinigami in the Gotei 13, and had been one of Yamamoto-sama's special students. He could be serious, he could fight, he could kill. And he hadn't been the captain of the eighth division, hadn't led them for centuries upon centuries, for nothing.

He was, essentially, a perfect shinigami. The sake and perpetual laziness are a mask to all but those who know him better.

So it was only logical that he become the captain-commander, for him to be the man to lead Soul Society from the ashes. Yes, Kurosaki Ichigo would help defeat the enemy and save the world, but it was her former captain who would unite the survivors and rebuild Seireitei again. He would assign new leaders, make new plans, and give them reasons to live their second lives to the fullest.

And her?

She would be shuffled off to the side, most likely as a replacement lieutenant for one of the more heavily hit divisions. She would work on the small things. She would fade into the background like she used to, and nobody would notice her.

_Yes_, she decides. That is what will happen, and that is what she will do. As much as it pains her, she will follow his every last command.

There is a fluttering feeling in her chest, an anomaly in the heartbeat that quickens her pulse. She knows that her heart - her soul - is protesting. But she forces herself to bind those feelings down again.

There are no emotions in a war, because only what is best for everyone will do. Her foolish wishes are most certainly not appropriate right now.

Nanao nods to herself, satisfied. Then she picks up a stray piece of paperwork, grabs a brush, and starts filling in the blanks again.

* * *

It is near midnight when the exhausted captain-commander of the Gotei Thirteen walks into the Eighth Division headquarters. There is a single lamp shining from inside the captain's office, yellow-gold beams spilling over the worn wooden floors. He walks towards that light.

She can tell, from the slowing footsteps and the wavering reiatsu signature, that he is pausing, waiting outside of the door for just a moment. She puts the brush down, and speaks.

"Come in."

He does, every step echoing in the unnatural silence in the room. He comes to stand before her desk, unusually solemn. The pair regard each other for a moment, each assessing the other.

He looks like a dead man walking, she thinks. His back is slumped - not the lazy slouch that's usually present, but a real slump - and there seem to be an infinite amount of new creases in his face. Even the gaudy pink haori on his back seems lifeless.

She's not much better off, herself. After three failed attempts at completing a single page of paperwork, she had spent the rest of the day recording casualties and writing various accounts based upon information gleaned from the databases. She had done it only because there was nothing else that she could really do.

"Nanao-chan."

Even with everything that's happened, his deep, slow, rumbling voice soothes her. It speaks of safety, and comfort, and perhaps a brighter future.

She puts her brush down.

"Kyoraku-sama. How may I help you?"

His face contorts into an expression of confusion when he hears the chance in honorific. "Nanao-chan? Is something wrong?"

"Of course not, Kyoraku-sama. Is there anything I can do to assist you?"

He looks slightly unnerved, but continues. "You should pack your things, Nanao-chan. You're changing divisions."

_Ah_. Just as she had predicted. She is to be moved.

It's just another time in her life when she wishes she isn't always right.

"I...understand," she chokes out. Best to start accepting the truth. "I will go and...make the proper arrangements."

He waves her off. "Don't worry about that, Nanao-chan. Just grab some of the most important things so we can go."

There is no doubt in her mind that he wants to settle her into the new place quickly, and leave her just as fast. The thought repeats itself many times as she moves around the office, gathering the items most important to her. He is standing in the center of the room, hands folded into his sleeves, waiting for her to finish.

When she is done, she walks over to his side with a bag on her shoulder. He snuffs the lone lamp, and starts walking. She matches his pace, always just one step behind. It is a habit honed by decades of partnership, and she is loathe to break it anytime soon.

They pass Divisions Six and Four, and she starts wondering why she has been relocated to the Second Division. From what she can recall, they didn't suffer _too _badly.

But when they pass the huge gate marked "Two," she can't help but ask.

"Where are we going, Kyoraku-taichou?" The word _captain _slips from her mouth unintentionally, and she is too focused on his upcoming answer to realize anything.

"The First Division, of course."

"_What_?" Her shock is tangible, pulsing in waves off of her body. "Why?"

He turns to look at her, smiling.

"Don't you understand, Nanao-chan?"

"Understand what?"

"Nanao-chan...you're coming with me."

* * *

_Please review! Any and all reviews are highly appreciated!_


End file.
